The transfer portal may make college football a little more difficult to keep track of because of the constant roster overhauling everywhere, but it has certainly made the sport more exciting to follow in the offseason.
Kentucky fans have gotten excited about some big-time transfer commitments in recent years, from quarterbacks Will Levis and Devin Leary to wide receivers, running backs, and players at every other position on the roster other than tight end.
But some transfer additions haven't been especially well-known at the time they were introduced as future Wildcats. One such player was Zion Childress, who transferred to Kentucky from Texas State last offseason.
Nobody could have known what to expect from Childress. Not much was available in terms of information compared to a lot of other players in the portal but we did know that he had played a lot of snaps for the Bobcats in his first year out of high school. He had started 14 games and saw action in 24 over his two seasons with Texas State, so at the very least, he had already logged a lot of game experience at the FBS level before making the step up in competition and spotlight in the SEC.
At Texas State, Childress was a tackling machine. He logged 61 tackles in his first season and 74 in his second season with the Bobcats. Childress had plenty of opportunities for those tackles. As a freshman he was occasionally stretched wide in cornerback duties manned up against receivers, but more often he was in slot coverage or stationed in the box to patrol closer to the line of scrimmage. He played closer to the line of scrimmage even more often in his second season at Texas State, so UK's coaches had plenty of reps to evaluate in terms of his ability.
At Kentucky last year, Childress didn't see much of any action in a cornerback role, and only 74 snaps at slot corner. That, and time in the box, probably would have been more than it was except for the injury to Jalen Geiger a season ago.
Because of Geiger's injury, Childress logged 167 snaps at free safety. He was also a regular on almost all of Kentucky's special teams units.
The end result? PFF graded Childress as one of the very best players not only on Kentucky's defense, but on the team itself. He was awarded a 76.5 overall defensive grade, the result of the following marks: 77.2 run defense, 73.6 coverage, 67.8 pass rush. That's a versatile player. Only Childress' tackling score was underwater because of a few whiffs in the Northern Illinois, Tennessee, and Iowa games. He had multiple missed tackles in those contests but was good in even that area, missing only one tackle attempt in all of Kentucky's other games combined.
According to PFF's data Childress was targeted eight times and only allowed two receptions for 12 yards, seven after the reception, for the entire season. Childress' production and impact really spiked toward the end of the season. His best overall game grade of the season came against Louisville in the regular season finale when he had a sack, three "stops" or tackles near the line of scrimmage, zero receptions allowed on two targets, and a pass breakup. He added another PBU against the Hawkeyes in the Music City Bowl.
With both Geiger and Vito Tisdale returning, along with fellow 2022 starter Jordan Lovett, there will be some competition for snaps in the secondary but Childress played at a high enough level last year to secure a good amount of playing time for himself.
The fact that Childress is able to play free safety, slot corner, or in the box ensures that he's in line for another season with a lot of snaps even with more players vying for time, and instead of going into the season as an unknown, Childress enters his fourth season of college football as one of the best players on Kentucky's defense and will be taking on more of a leadership role.
Childress' true freshman season was in 2020 and he didn't redshirt, so at the end of this season he will have a chance to opt for an additional season of eligibility.
